Red-light camera company open to two-tiered ticketing

Rolling right turns may net lower fines

August 10, 2009|By Bob Secter, Tribune reporter

As a backlash against red light cameras starts to gain steam, a traffic camera firm serving Chicago and several suburbs says it is willing to explore charging a reduced fine to drivers caught making illegal rolling right turns on red.

Australian-owned Redflex Traffic Systems Inc. recently told Naperville officials that it could, if asked, revamp systems so right-turn violators would be billed less than red-light runners who blow straight through intersections, a more dangerous infraction.

That position stands in sharp contrast to one taken last month by Lombard-based RedSpeed-Illinois, the dominant camera firm in the suburbs, which flatly refused to consider a two-tiered fine structure when asked to do so by River Forest, then a prospective customer. The near west suburb wanted to levy a $50 fine on rolling-right-turn violators, half the $100 standard in Illinois for red-light infractions caught on camera.

The inquiries from River Forest and Naperville followed a Tribune series last month that found the vast majority of red-light camera tickets were issued for right-turn-on-red violations, even though traffic-safety experts say such infractions rarely result in serious damage or injury. Underscoring concerns, trustees in Schaumburg voted unanimously last month to yank the town's last traffic camera, which had generated considerable revenue but also riled motorists while failing to produce palpable safety benefits.

More than 70 municipalities around the region have installed cameras in recent years, with backers arguing that they deter accidents. Critics argue that the devices are little more than money machines for camera vendors and cash-strapped municipalities, pointing to the large share of tickets for right-turn-on-red violations as evidence that cameras largely focus on less serious violations.

The River Forest Village Board voted July 13 to conditionally hire RedSpeed to install two traffic cameras on Harlem Avenue. The deal was scuttled two days later when RedSpeed said it wouldn't agree to lower fines for right-turn-on-red violators, contending that to do so would invite a lawsuit from someone claiming it was unfair to charge different fines for similar infractions.

Redflex supplies all of Chicago's traffic cameras and operates cameras in Naperville and other suburbs. Reacting to the situation in River Forest, Naperville Assistant City Atty. Michael DiSanto on July 15 asked Redflex if it could accommodate a similar break for right-turn violators, according to an e-mail exchange obtained by the Tribune through the Freedom of Information Act.

The answer was "yes," though Redflex officials said it would require some drastic software changes and could take nine to 12 months to fully implement. They made no mention of any legal qualms.

"Where you have dedicated right-turn lanes, this is a relatively straightforward process," wrote Redflex official Mark Etzbach. Where no dedicated turning lanes exist, the change would be more challenging but still doable, Etzbach said.

"Bottom line, if council wants to explore this further, we will work with the City to identify the needs and provide all the support we can to identify the requirements and give them what is required to make their final determination," Etzbach wrote.

Based on the response from Redflex, Naperville City Atty. Margo Ely informed her boss that it indeed was possible to give a break on fines to right-turn violators.

"The City's automated red light vendor believes it can accommodate such a scenario ... ," Ely said in a memo to City Manager Douglas Krieger.

Naperville spokeswoman Kate Houlihan said the inquiry to Redflex was informal and prompted by a request from a City Council member. Naperville charges $100 for all red-light camera tickets, and Houlihan said there are no plans at present to change that law.

Shoba Vaitheeswaran, a Redflex spokeswoman, said the firm's responses to Naperville addressed only the technological feasibility of changing the fine structure.

"If we decide to move forward with a customized solution, we will work with the city to do the due diligence to find out whether an ordinance and law would allow a tiered fee," she said.

Traffic cameras have proved big revenue generators, and any reduction in fees would appear to have more of an impact on municipalities than the vendors who provide the cameras and manage ticketing. Redflex charges municipalities a flat fee of under $5,000 per month for each camera.

RedSpeed equipment rental is much less, but the firm typically also charges municipalities up to $36 for every ticket processed. That arrangement could leave little financial incentive for municipalities to install cameras if the bulk of fines were reduced to $50.

A RedSpeed salesman objected to River Forest trustees when they voted in favor of lower fines for rolling-right-turn violators. He said the firm runs cameras in more than 50 suburbs, all charge $100 on every ticket, and changing things for River Forest would be an administrative headache that could lead to errors.

That was followed up by an outright rejection of the idea by RedSpeed lawyer Martin Korey. "In our opinion, this would be an invitation to a lawsuit based upon an equal protection violation under the Illinois Constitution," Korey said in an e-mail to village officials. "In effect, the village would be penalizing one violator $50 and another violator $100 for the same violation."